The Packers‘ 2024 season = Chaos, highs, lows, drama, and injuries. While Jordan Love’s team did manage to keep the fans on edge, they only made it to playoffs to hit a wall in the Wild Card round with a 22-10 loss to the Eagles. As if the defeat was not enough for the Packers, what came after added some spice to the story. Forget injuries for a second – fines are basically the NFL’s way of saying, ‘Yeah, you messed up big time,’ and the Packers, oh boy. They just got a double dose of that reality after a brutal loss to the Eagles!

Two Green Bay players, Tedarrell ‘T J’ Slaton, and Lukas Van Ness, got hit with fines after going extra on Saquon Barkley. It all went down late in the fourth quarter with 4:53 on the clock. Barkley was already stopped on a 1-yard gain, but Slaton and Van Ness decided to play tough guys ‘like we don’t know what their thought process is‘. But pushing another player? Nah, someone might leave it be, but not the NFL. And the NFL straight-up sent a notice for the fines to both players. As it was deemed as $11,255 for unnecessary roughness (late hit).

Hold on, there is still more. Slaton’s penalty basically sealed the game. The Eagles were looking at a third-and-four, but his and Van Ness’s late hit gave them a free first down. Philly said, ‘thank you very much‘ and went on to kick a field goal. Putting the game out of reach. Slaton’s been solid this season. Dude hasn’t missed a game since being drafted in 2021 but this wasn’t his best moment.

Van Ness, on the other hand, has been one of Green Bay’s young dawgs, racking up 7.5 sacks and 62 tackles this season. But sometimes, it just happens. We all have our bad moments and this was one of those times. For a team that already stacked eight penalties for 85 yards in this game, these mistakes were a major buzzkill. The Packers aren’t the only ones taking an L with fines this week, though. The NFL’s been handing out penalties left and right, making sure everyone remembers to chill when the whistle blows.

Football’s all about energy, but even the league’s saying, ‘Don’t get carried away, bro.’ This saying is applied to the Eagles as well.

Drama of the NFL, apology to Jordan Love’s team

Jordan Love and Co’s Wild Card loss to the Eagles had drama right from the opening kickoff. Former Packer Oren Burks came in hot, laying a hit on Keisean Nixon that caused a fumble. Philly scooped it up, and a few plays later, they were in the end zone, up 7-0. At first, Tom Brady, one of the broadcast crew, called it “an absolutely clean hit,” but the NFL later backtracked, fining Burks $8,333 for unnecessary roughness for leading with his helmet. Tough look for the league, but the damage to Green Bay is done!!

That opening turnover flipped the script fast. By the end of the first quarter, the Eagles were cruising with a 10-0 lead after adding a field goal. Meanwhile, Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense were stuck in neutral. Love, who’s had some solid performances this season, couldn’t find his groove early. Missed throws and a lack of big plays kept Green Bay on the back foot, while Philly kept the pressure on.

Even with the NFL’s fine serving, later admitting their mistake, Matt LaFleur wasn’t having it. “I have not even attempted to try to. It’s not going to change anything,” he said, clearly still heated about how the game started. ‘Like, if the flow and the momentum were given a gap, how can it be recovered instantly?’. The opening fumble and quick Philly touchdown buried the Packers in a hole they couldn’t escape. Making fans wonder how the game might’ve unfolded if the refs had made the right call.